Talk about a monkey wrench. Based on their treatment of Phil Hughes so far, the Yankees probably planned on sending Ivan Nova back down to the minors regardless of how he performed. The six-man rotation used last time around might have been some schedule finagling designed to make sure A.J. Burnett didn't face the Red Sox in Fenway this weekend. After completing his duty, Nova would then be sent back down to the minors until the rosters expanded in September. However, the decision might not be so easy.
Here's the way the Yankee rotation would look if GM Brian Cashman and manager Jo Girardi could make decisions based purely on performance: CC Sabathia, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Nova, and Burnett, in that order. Hughes had a great start his last outing, but that hardly makes up for the many times he's been plastered this season. In fact, Nova has far out-performed him this year. Unfortunately, the Yankees have to put Hughes in the rotation.
If Hughes gets sent to the bullpen again, there's no going back. It's time for him to make the move from a mediocre starting pitcher to a genuine major leaguer. He's old enough, and he's been around long enough, to finally take that last step and establish himself. If the Yankees send him to the bullpen, that's it. A stint in the bullpen would erase the little progress he has made in the rotation. If they send him down to the minors, his development as a pitcher would be put on hold. Hughes is good enough to get minor leaguers out, and he might not be able to learn much from pitching in the minors. It's only in the major leagues that he'll be able to hone his pitching skills.
Which brings us to the dilemma. The Yankees can't send Nova down, and they can't demote him to the bullpen. Because he's been so good, rewarding him with anything less than a spot in the rotation is just wrong. At the same time, the Yankees can't really do anything except keep Hughes in the rotation. There's only solution left: a six-man rotation. Critics say that Sabathia couldn't handle all those extra off days. Even if that were true, there's no reason why the Yankees can't give Garcia or Colon an extra day off once in a while. Neither is as young as he used to be, and Colon is pretty injury prone. It's not a perfect solution, but it's the best one out there.
To end on a positive note, the Yankees could have more to worry about. People complain about their high payroll, but at least they have the money to support their spending - unlike another entity we could name.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
Showing posts with label Brian Cashman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Cashman. Show all posts
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Steining Mistakes
Hal Steinbrenner has turned into his father. Rafael Soriano - who was signed at Steinbrenner's orders and against Brian Cashman's wishes - is going to be out until July at the earliest. Sound familiar? Does the name "Jaret Wright" ring a bell? How about Randy Johnson? Kevin Brown? There are a lot of common denominators for these infamous names (including big bucks and injuries), but the one we're interested in is Steinbrenner.
George liked to throw his weight around when it came to bringing in big names to play for New York. In a way, the approach of filling a team with superstars that came through other teams' systems makes sense. After all, why put the time and effort into developing talent when you afford to sign it while it's in its prime? No muss, no fuss, just a big check.
Unfortunately, big names often come with two big price tags - one tag has a dollar sign, the other does not. In the Yankees's case, the second price tags were injury tags. Wright, Johnson, and Brown all got injured and ended their Yankee careers rather miserably. (Granted, Carl Pavano seemed to be more Cashman's idea than George Steinbrenner's, and he's more infamous than the other three put together. However, everyone is entitled to one or two mistakes.)
In the end, Brian Cashman has proved himself to be a very intelligent general manager with the ability to put together a World Series team. If Steinbrenner keeps out of Cashman's way, the Yankees might avoid signing clunkers like Soriano.
Things could be worse. The Yankees could have Steinbrenner as an owner and Theo Epstein as a GM. Then they would Stein - we mean sign several clunkers a year.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
George liked to throw his weight around when it came to bringing in big names to play for New York. In a way, the approach of filling a team with superstars that came through other teams' systems makes sense. After all, why put the time and effort into developing talent when you afford to sign it while it's in its prime? No muss, no fuss, just a big check.
Unfortunately, big names often come with two big price tags - one tag has a dollar sign, the other does not. In the Yankees's case, the second price tags were injury tags. Wright, Johnson, and Brown all got injured and ended their Yankee careers rather miserably. (Granted, Carl Pavano seemed to be more Cashman's idea than George Steinbrenner's, and he's more infamous than the other three put together. However, everyone is entitled to one or two mistakes.)
In the end, Brian Cashman has proved himself to be a very intelligent general manager with the ability to put together a World Series team. If Steinbrenner keeps out of Cashman's way, the Yankees might avoid signing clunkers like Soriano.
Things could be worse. The Yankees could have Steinbrenner as an owner and Theo Epstein as a GM. Then they would Stein - we mean sign several clunkers a year.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Look Out, Phil, You Might Be Driven Off For Cliff
The New York Post has reported that the Yankees are on the verge of acquiring left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee from the Mariners. Lee would be an awesome addition to the Yankees's rotation. Imagine, for a moment, a playoff rotation with CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Andy Pettitte, and A.J. Burnett. The Yankees would be unbeatable. Additionally, they wouldn't have to worry about Lee going to another playoff-bound team. Since every game against Lee seems to end in a big, ugly, L for the Yankees, facing him twice in a five-game series would be bad.
However, the main positive in acquiring Cliff Lee would be sending Phil Hughes to the bullpen. Hughes has an innings limit this year and likely won't last the rest of the year in the starting rotation. Plus, no team can win in the playoffs with a stinky bullpen and, frankly, the Yankee bullpen has stunk this year. With the exception of Mariano Rivera, of course. Joba Chamberlain hasn't been able to get the job done as the setup man this year, and he's one of the better ones. Hughes would add stability to the bullpen and a sense of security for the starters - they won't need to pitch eight innings to ensure a win.
Sending Hughes to the bullpen has its downside, though. Hughes is among the league leaders in wins this year, and has clearly won a spot in the starting rotation. The Yankees have tried using pitchers as yo-yos before and it hasn't worked out well. See Joba, who was all built up to be a starter before the Yankees shoved him in the bullpen during spring training. While we believe Joba belongs in the bullpen, the Yankees treated him unfairly by pushing the starter idea until the last minute and then suddenly changing their minds. He has struggled since then. Hughes seems to be more mature than Joba and will probably be better able to handle being placed in the bullpen, but we don't know him personally, so we can't say for sure. All we can say is Hughes had better have a guaranteed spot in the rotation come spring training. We don't want to see him messed up like Joba.
Then again, the Yankees don't have to trade for Cliff Lee because they have a nugget of a left-handed starter already in their minor leagues. Oh wait, Brian Cashman's stress ball probably wouldn't be able to handle another Kei Igawa call-up.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
However, the main positive in acquiring Cliff Lee would be sending Phil Hughes to the bullpen. Hughes has an innings limit this year and likely won't last the rest of the year in the starting rotation. Plus, no team can win in the playoffs with a stinky bullpen and, frankly, the Yankee bullpen has stunk this year. With the exception of Mariano Rivera, of course. Joba Chamberlain hasn't been able to get the job done as the setup man this year, and he's one of the better ones. Hughes would add stability to the bullpen and a sense of security for the starters - they won't need to pitch eight innings to ensure a win.
Sending Hughes to the bullpen has its downside, though. Hughes is among the league leaders in wins this year, and has clearly won a spot in the starting rotation. The Yankees have tried using pitchers as yo-yos before and it hasn't worked out well. See Joba, who was all built up to be a starter before the Yankees shoved him in the bullpen during spring training. While we believe Joba belongs in the bullpen, the Yankees treated him unfairly by pushing the starter idea until the last minute and then suddenly changing their minds. He has struggled since then. Hughes seems to be more mature than Joba and will probably be better able to handle being placed in the bullpen, but we don't know him personally, so we can't say for sure. All we can say is Hughes had better have a guaranteed spot in the rotation come spring training. We don't want to see him messed up like Joba.
Then again, the Yankees don't have to trade for Cliff Lee because they have a nugget of a left-handed starter already in their minor leagues. Oh wait, Brian Cashman's stress ball probably wouldn't be able to handle another Kei Igawa call-up.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Brian Cashman is Brilliant
The New York Yankees, despite losing four out of their last five games, are 22-12. On May 13th of last year they were 16-17. The reason for the Yankees' early season success this year is simple: they learned how to win throughout the course of their world championship season.
It's difficult to believe a team that won 94 games in 2007 and 89 games in 2008 didn't know how to win. However, that seems to be the best explanation for the Yankees' early season (and playoff) struggles in those years. Generally speaking, players need to trust each other to get the job done if they are going to win championships. The Yankee players in 2007 and 2008 didn't play as if they trusted one another one little bit. Of course, they had good reason not to trust each other. The defense was terrible and the pitching staff was worse. The position players were right near the top with runs scored in both 2007 and 2008, but they couldn't score that extra one or two runs in the late innings to win close ballgames. Finally, the players didn't seem to like each other- specifically Alex Rodriguez. But GM Brian Cashman had a plan.
Cashman made two brilliant moves in the offseason following the 2008 season. The first was a trade for Chicago White Sox outfielder Nick Swisher. Cashman told Swisher that the Yankees traded for him- he didn't need to replace Bobby Abreu, who is one of the best all-around hitters in baseball. He could hit .245 with 25 home runs, 75 RBI, and an OBP of .380 (all within Swisher's capabilities) and the Yankees would be thrilled. What Cashman really wanted was for Swisher to liven up the Yankees' clubhouse. Swisher is a notoriously fun-loving guy- and the Yankees clubhouse, filled with "professionals," was in dire need of some fun.
The second brilliant move that Cashman made following the 2008 season was the acquisition of free agent CC Sabathia. Granted, Cashman was one of the few GMs in baseball who could afford to dish out a giant contract to the equally giant left-handed pitcher. But CC ended up being a perfect fit for the Yankees. He had been concerned about the overtly "professional" feel of the clubhouse before he signed. But Cashman told him that it was CC's job to change that atmosphere. CC rose to the challenge and loosened things up, starting with inviting teammates to NBA games during spring training. Of course, his performance during the 2009 season was also key to the Yankees' success: he went 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA in 230 innings pitched during the regular season and 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 36.1 innings in the postseason. However, even if he hadn't been quite as successful on the field his presence in the clubhouse would have greatly impacted the Yankees.
The Yankees went from getting embarrassed by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the playoffs in 2007 to missing the playoffs entirely in 2008 to winning the World Series in 2009. Brian Cashman's offseason additions of Nick Swisher and CC Sabathia helped build a sense of trust among the Yankees and ultimately led to a world championship.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
It's difficult to believe a team that won 94 games in 2007 and 89 games in 2008 didn't know how to win. However, that seems to be the best explanation for the Yankees' early season (and playoff) struggles in those years. Generally speaking, players need to trust each other to get the job done if they are going to win championships. The Yankee players in 2007 and 2008 didn't play as if they trusted one another one little bit. Of course, they had good reason not to trust each other. The defense was terrible and the pitching staff was worse. The position players were right near the top with runs scored in both 2007 and 2008, but they couldn't score that extra one or two runs in the late innings to win close ballgames. Finally, the players didn't seem to like each other- specifically Alex Rodriguez. But GM Brian Cashman had a plan.
Cashman made two brilliant moves in the offseason following the 2008 season. The first was a trade for Chicago White Sox outfielder Nick Swisher. Cashman told Swisher that the Yankees traded for him- he didn't need to replace Bobby Abreu, who is one of the best all-around hitters in baseball. He could hit .245 with 25 home runs, 75 RBI, and an OBP of .380 (all within Swisher's capabilities) and the Yankees would be thrilled. What Cashman really wanted was for Swisher to liven up the Yankees' clubhouse. Swisher is a notoriously fun-loving guy- and the Yankees clubhouse, filled with "professionals," was in dire need of some fun.
The second brilliant move that Cashman made following the 2008 season was the acquisition of free agent CC Sabathia. Granted, Cashman was one of the few GMs in baseball who could afford to dish out a giant contract to the equally giant left-handed pitcher. But CC ended up being a perfect fit for the Yankees. He had been concerned about the overtly "professional" feel of the clubhouse before he signed. But Cashman told him that it was CC's job to change that atmosphere. CC rose to the challenge and loosened things up, starting with inviting teammates to NBA games during spring training. Of course, his performance during the 2009 season was also key to the Yankees' success: he went 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA in 230 innings pitched during the regular season and 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 36.1 innings in the postseason. However, even if he hadn't been quite as successful on the field his presence in the clubhouse would have greatly impacted the Yankees.
The Yankees went from getting embarrassed by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the playoffs in 2007 to missing the playoffs entirely in 2008 to winning the World Series in 2009. Brian Cashman's offseason additions of Nick Swisher and CC Sabathia helped build a sense of trust among the Yankees and ultimately led to a world championship.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
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